Mayudama
In FY2013, the Mayudama Plan was adopted as a Program to Support the Activities of Female Researchers (General) under the authority of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and in FY2017, the Mayudama Plan: Advanced was adopted by the Initiative for Realizing Diversity in the Research Environment(Characteristic Type).
The word "Mayudama", which describes the ball-shaped cocoons produced by silkworms, was chosen as a tribute to the long-standing silk cultivation and textile industry of Gunma.
The word is also associated with a traditional form of decoration known as "Mayudama-kazari", which consists of cocoon-shaped rice cakes speared onto tree branches and is regarded as a symbol of fertility.
It is our hope that the Mayudama Plan can enrich the development of research, similar to how silkworms are cultivated in their cocoons.